Youth Effect Youth of the Year 2011

As a member of Youth Effect when the program began in 2004, I was surprised in being able to learn about my heritage, culture and history outside of the classroom setting. Even more surprising to me was the fact that in the classroom the only things I learned about my culture was about the Vietnam War, at home I learned language and holidays but at Youth Effect I learned about my community, the struggles of our parents in America and the struggles of youth like myself who were born and/or raised in America and trying to adapt to both cultures. My learning experience and the opportunity to work in my community has kept me as part of the Youth Effect program for the past 8 years.

From being a program participant, to becoming a volunteer, part-time youth advising and finally full-time Youth Effect Program Coordinator; I see the potential of this program to enable families like mine and youth like myself to be able to grow and realize the dream of our organization. The dream of a strong united community coming together in one place, a cultural center for all activities open to all people of Worcester with a Southeast Asian influence.

With my own story and dream I present to you our Youth Effect Youth of the Year 2011. These four youth exemplified strong leadership, volunteerism, cultural competency and role model behavior. They have been a part of our program for many years and continue to grow with us. It has been my pleasure to work with Nolbelt Villegas, Andy Le, Christian Villegas and Anthony Le these past years.

- Andrew Le, Youth Effect Program Coordinator

Five years ago, a boy named Nolbelt Villegas started coming to a program called Youth Effect at the Southeast Asian Coalition. Introduced by his two good friends and once he started coming it became a daily activity. Villegas says, "Youth Effect is like my hobby," as well as boxing and hanging out with his friends. He comes to Youth Effect because he wants to try his best to contribute into the community, and also because this Youth Effect program "enhances my health." Youth Effect has helped him in many ways: communication skills and "there are too many things to name," says Villegas. But the people who encourages Nolbelt to continue coming to Youth Effect are two great men: Andrew Le, and Boa Ha. 

Andy Le is now 19 years old, and has been in the Youth Effect program since the year of 2006. His hobbies are exercising, biking and video games. He's been introduced to Youth Effect by his older brother Andrew Le. The first time Andy decided to come to this Youth Effect was because Andrew was working on a project and asked him to help, and ever since then, Andy has been involved. Andy loves coming to Youth Effect because he likes meeting new people, and the time that is spent with those people. What encouraged Andy to continue coming to this Youth Effect because the youth and the youth workers motivated him to come every day, they were good role models for him and he liked hanging around them. Andy says that Youth Effect has offered him volunteering activities, helped in high school work as well as college. Youth Effect has also helped Andy get scholarships towards his tuition, and handle personal problems as well. 

Christian Villegas is now 17 years old and has been involved with Youth Effect for six years now. He began going to Youth Effect because his two good friends, Andy and Anthony Le, asked him and his older brother Nolbelt to come to the program. He loves the fact that Youth Effect always has new youth coming, and he gets the opportunity to meet new people and adapt with their personality. Christian is encouraged to continue coming because of the people he has met, in his words "you get attached to something you love dearly." Youth Effect has offered Junior Achievement and homework help. Youth Effect has helped Christian stay out of trouble, get his homework done and given him a job during the summer.

Anthony Le is now 18 years old, and has been a part of the Youth Effect program since 2006. He was introduced to Youth Effect by his older brother Andrew Le. Youth Effect a place for Anthony to go out and be active and engage with other youth as well as the community. Youth Effect has given Anthony multiple opportunities, including meeting new people, trying new things, a job, developing skills, and plenty more. He continues to participate in the program because of the people: both the staff and the youth. “Everyone is very energetic and supportive; it creates a great environment that is stress-free and lively. The people are always welcoming and benevolent, encouraging one another to do their best in whatever it is they want to do. “ The best opportunities he has been given through the program were “meeting incredible people and learning more of my own culture and language.” Anthony’s favorite hobbies are dancing, hanging out with friends and play games and Youth Effect has “helped me broaden my skills, such as leadership or even in dance. Dancing is something I love to do, and at Youth Effect I have been able to learn more choreography and styles of dancing. I have also been fortunate enough to perform numerous times and develop some of my own pieces. Also, with the leadership skills I have gained, I was able to achieve the Posse scholarship.” The Posse Foundation scholarship is a full scholarship to selected colleges; Anthony has received the scholarship to attend Bucknell University this Fall.

Thank you for reading our stories.
Youth Effect

Youth Effect Stories


Nolbelt Villegas

          What Youth Effect (YE) means to me is a place where I can go to get away from everything. YE has been a place that I have relied on for many years. It has gotten me in to shape, it helps me with school, gave me community service hours, and a feeling of accomplishment. My experience at YE has altered my life in a completely astonishing way. One of the events that are going on in YE that I enjoy participating in the most is boxing. Boxing has played a major role in my life. It taught me a valuable lesson in being strong and working for my own longevity. This activity has been brought forward to me through the YE program. A man named Boa supported it. Read more.

          Boa has also played an enormous role in my life. Boa has taught me many lessons. Some of them vary from how to act in front of professional people, to how to defend myself in desperate situations. He has also taught me that life isn't about the money you earn, but what you are doing to earn it. This means it doesn't matter how much money you make, it's about doing something you like to do to earn it. A quote he has always said to me was "Find a job you love, once you do that you never have to work a day in your life." Boa has made an amazing change in my life, and I thank him for it.

           Hopefully, in the near future I can get a reward for boxing and hang it up on the YE wall. With Boa's help I wish to acquire the Golden Gloves award. Boa has always been there for me and I can go to him for everything. Boa has always talked to me about opening his own gym. My dream is to help him move forward with his dream and accomplish what he needs to.

           Without Boa at YE, I don't think I would have the physical health I have now. Once he came my life became more active. He taught me everything I know from all the punch combos, to how to read the opponents' moves. He also taught me that pain should not be a factor in boxing, "for pain is only temporary and pride is forever". That quote is burnt in to my head every time I'm boxing. My fantasy fight would be me and Boa together for the championship fight. One obstacle Boa has helped me surpass was never giving up on anything. Before meeting Boa, if I felt something was too hard I would give up immediately. He reminded me over and over not to give up. I found out that if I tried hard enough, I would be able to accomplish anything.

Hide this content.


Sang Le

          Boa Ha is one of the most unique people I've ever met. He's not like everyone else, he does his own thing. When I met Boa, I didn't expect him to be the way he was. He was much different from the time I met him, to now.Read more.

          In my life, I see Boa as an older brother. He treats me just like a little sister. We joke with each other all the time. But he's not just an older brother, he's an inspiration. Everything that he has done so far has inspired me to do things just like him when I grow up. Boa has helped every single kid in SEAC at least once, for whatever it may be. When he helps us with something, it inspires me to help someone else. Most importantly, Boa is a friend to me, a friend that is always there no matter what.

          Everything that Boa has done for me and everyone else really made me think about things differently. He has helped me think more positively and make more positive decisions. Instead of going out and getting in trouble, Boa has showed me so many different ways to have fun without partying and doing bad things. Because of Boa, I learned new things about myself that I wouldn't have figured out. He helped me see the good things about myself and other people.

          Before I met Boa, I was very different. I was childish and I made a lot of wrong choices. I use to always mouth off, talk back, and I never thought before I spoke. But after I met Boa, I completely changed. I'm now more respectful, more mature, I learned to think before I speak and I don't mouth off. Also, I am now more responsible about things. It's quite interesting how much I've changed after knowing Boa for only a short time.

          There was one particular situation in my life that Boa helped me with. It was my AP Human Geography class. I was only a freshman in high school when I took a freshman college course. I had so much trouble doing the work, paying attention in class and all of my other classes. I struggled half way through the year until Boa stepped in and offered his help. Although he knew nothing about the subject, he wanted to help. He tried to do whatever he could to make sure I passed the class and exam. We made a deal that if I try to pass the class and exam, then he would try to win the Golden Gloves. That encouraged me so much because of how much work he was putting in to help me. I ended up being able to pass the class and the exam with a 3. I honestly don't think I could have done it without Boa's help and encouragement.

Hide this content.

Our youth are writing about our Youth Effect Advisor:

Bao "Boa" Ha
"Pain"
A life without pain is meaningless
Pain.
Makes you appreciate happiness
Pain.
You will have a heart and knowledge stronger than anything if you overcome it
Pain.
Makes leaders
Pain.
Makes heroes
Pain.
Makes me.

Youth of the Year 2010

Samuel Jaesung Kim

While being at the Southeast Asian Coalition (SEAC), I have gained many good friends and been through many different experiences that helped me develop leadership skills and resources that could be used for future reference. The people at SEAC are dependable and have a good sense of humor. With Youth Effect, I have participated in and helped prepare for events like the Asian Youth Symposium and Asian Festival. I have performed cultural dances and fashion shows with the other youth. I have also performed with the lion dance team, known as WYND (Worcester Youth Nian Dancers). At the Southeast Asian Coalition, I took part in workshops, such as "What does it mean to be Asian-American" and "Planning out your future." SEAC provided me a place to work, participate in events, and have fun with the other youth.Read more.

On my first day at SEAC, I was introduced to the Youth Effect Program Coordinator Andrew and other Youth Effect members, they welcomed me whole heartedly. We had fun solving riddles and listening to Korean music. Later that day, I was invited to attend the Social Justice Roundtable meeting with Youth Effect. At the meeting, we discussed immigration issues and unjust wages for immigrant workers. After my first day at SEAC, I found that I had fun and was more knowledgeable about political and societal issues. After a week, I felt that I had become part of the Youth Effect group. I began participating in various activities and events, such as the Asian Youth Symposium, Asian Festival, and Moon Festival.

The Asian Youth Symposium is an event that empowers Asian youth and Asian culture in America. This event was the first event for SEAC that I would attend and participate. I had been requested to be an MC and a Panelist for "Searching for Life in America". With much practice and preparation, the event was a great success. It was really fun working with Andrew and other youth members.

The next huge event that was going to occur was the Asian Festival. For this event, I decided to participate in the fashion show and the Japanese cultural dance. The fashion show was very entertaining, considering that it was my first time wearing Vietnamese clothing. Practicing different poses by myself and with my partner was amusing to say the least. The Japanese dance was quite a workout, I felt like I was doing squats every time we practiced. All in all, our practice paid off and the performance was successful and entertaining.

After the Asian Festival, I decided to join the Worcester Youth Nian Dancers (WYND); the Youth Effect lion dance team. The lions looked really cool and it also looked really fun. It is also a very good exercising activity, having to move the lion head in different directions and lifting one's partner in the air. The lion itself is made up of two people, one being the head and the other being the tail. I have tried both roles, to see which role would fit me the best. After my first performance at the YMCA, I was chosen to be the role of the Buddha. The Buddha skips around with a fan, messing around with the lions during the performance. Being the Buddha was pretty tiring but at the same time it was really fun. I performed at the Moon Festival as the Buddha and it was a very successful performance.

In short, I really enjoy being a member of the SEAC Youth Effect group.

-Samuel Jaesung Kim

Hide this content.